


Needles

by Jasontoddjr



Series: Of needles and clowns [1]
Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Drug Use, Gen, idk i wrote this real quick, this is more of a character study
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-16 02:03:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11244051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jasontoddjr/pseuds/Jasontoddjr
Summary: Jason really hated needles





	Needles

When he was younger, Jason had really hated needles. It brought up the painful memories of his mum lying down on the couch staring into empty space with wide dilated eyes that saw nothing. She wouldn’t recognize him, no matter how hard he clung to her or called her. He hated it when she was in her own world, abandoning him to the cold and hunger. There would always be an empty needle nearby and he knew it was to blame.

So when he became Robin and Bruce’s controlling tendencies (or was it simply his stunted version of caring?) forced him to take blood samples every time he got exposed to something hazardous or just for routine checks, he had always panicked. No matter what excuses he came with, Bruce would not compromise (Robin, you face thugs and armed goons on a daily basis, surely a little sting won’t scare you?). So he had learned to accept the sting of the needle, telling himself that he won’t become like his mother. Bruce was not injecting anything in him, he was only taking blood. He could live with that.

When he broke his leg for the first time and Bruce was fussing over him on the medical bay, he had seen Alfred hovering over his leg with a needle filled with a clear liquid. That’s when he started screaming and kicking and biting. Bruce had pinned him down on the gurney asking him what’s gotten into him while Alfred had tried to soothe him. After a while his throat was sore and Bruce was looking at him with so much worry that he stopped screaming. He couldn’t stop the tears though. When Alfred has asked him if he wanted something to eat and go to his room he had nodded vigorously and Bruce was looking at Alfred in disbelief. 

Later when he was in his room having dinner in bed (that was a first too) under the watchful eyes of Alfred, Bruce had come sit by his bed, combing a hand through his sweaty curls. He had told him that his leg needed to be set and that they would go to the hospital if it would make him feel more comfortable. He had shook his head and told them that they could set his leg right then and there. “But Jay, what was that all about downstairs?” Bruce had asked in confusion. Jason had set the bowl of soup on the tray on the nightstand and had started fidgeting with the hem of his shirt before asking in a tiny voice “Just... just no needles, please?”

As the Red Hood he still avoids intravenous narcotics as much as possible, preferring to take oral painkillers instead. They worked a bit slower and they weren’t even effective half of the time. But hey, if there’s one thing that Jason is proud of, it’s that he can take a little pain.

**Author's Note:**

> I was planning on posting this on [my tumblr](http://www.jasontoddjr.tumblr.com) but here you go, my first work


End file.
